A Uniting Church coeducational independent day and boarding school on Kaurna Country, Adelaide, South Australia
Early Learning to Year 12
According to the OECD, the COVID-19 crisis has forced school closures in 188 countries, leading to significant disruption to the learning of more than 1.7 billion children and youth worldwide.
Fortunately, in South Australia, we have had minimal disruptions and at Westminster in the last few weeks, we have even been able to have Music Nights, Dance concerts, Drama productions, Intercol, Athletics Carnivals, the Green and White, and even a student-led building opening!
Our students have enjoyed continuous face-to-face education throughout the COVID-19 crisis and for this, we should all be grateful, for we have been, to date, very fortunate.
Over the last few weeks, we travelled to Pembroke for the Intercol and while not all teams were victorious, all teams acquitted themselves very well. The tenacity of our teams was demonstrated in every match, culminating in our A Netball and First XVIII Football teams, where our players were able to bond together, train with great coaching staff and ultimately aspire to a high level of competition. Throughout their shortened season, our students gave nothing less than their best to finish with decisive victories.
The sense of jubilation did not stop there when last Wednesday (15 September) we were able to have an incredible student-led opening of the Inquiry and Innovation Hub. A sense of anticipation had been building through the student cohort in the preceding days. When School Captain Kaine Baldwin and School Vice Captain Ruby Liptak cut the ribbon to allow student access to the building, there was an almighty cheer as students surged forward to explore their new learning spaces. It was fantastic to witness the students’ reactions to their new facility and that alone confirmed the value of the decision to undertake this significant project and what it will mean for student learning.
The last few weeks of the term have showcased so much of what makes Westminster incredibly special. As we reflect on this over the break, it is important that we remain grateful for the work of staff, students and families to achieve all we have as a community in the global pandemic.
We will start Term 4 in a similar vein to how we have finished Term 3 with the opening and naming of another major facility, in this case, the Sports Pavilion. Our official celebration is on Sunday 18 October from 2.00 to 5.00 pm, which will feature the formal opening within a family fun day of activities around the Main Oval. There is information being shared about this within this eNews. Then, towards the end of Term 4, we will be officially opening the Inquiry and Innovation Hub. In the meantime, we are taking current parent tours of our new Inquiry and Innovation Hub (you can book on a tour, E: ws@westminster.school or T: 08 8276 0276) and, of course, the next term starts with our Open Day for families who are considering Westminster for their children’s education.
There is always something on the go at Westminster School, even if we are about to enjoy an end-of-term holiday. I hope that you all have a fantastic break and look forward to seeing you in Term 4.
Simon Shepherd
Principal